Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2014) 35 S20.1 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.35.S20.1

ECE2014 Symposia New hormones and endocrine tissues (3 abstracts)

FGF21, irisin and other novel players in endocrine metabòlic regulation

Francesc Villarroya 1 , Ruben Cereijo 1 , Joan Villarroya 2 & Marta Giralt 1


1University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; 2Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona/Catalonia, Spain.


Brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity is a relevant component of energy expenditure in mammals. Moreover, BAT constitutes an active site of glucose and lipid draining and, therefore, BAT activity is also a relevant actor in the control of glycemia and lipidemia. Recent years, possibly because of the awareness that active BAT is present in adult humans, have witnessed a burst in the identification of novel endocrine factors released by peripheral tissues that can act on BAT beyond the known sympathetic nervous system-mediated regulation. These novel factors are released by the heart (natriuretic peptides), gut (glucagon-like peptide-1, fibroblast growth factor-19) and other organs. Among them, irisin, originating in skeletal muscle, and fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF21), mainly produced in the liver, appear especially relevant. Irisin is released mainly by muscle in response to exercise, and appears to induce preferentially the ‘browning’ of white adipose tissue (i.e. the appearance of brown adipocytes in white fat depots). FGF21 is mainly produced in the liver in response to fatty acid availability, but there is also evidence of FGF21 production in BAT itself in response to thermogenic stimuli, thus suggesting autocrine effects. These factors have cell-autonomous effects promoting the activity and differentiation of brown adipocytes, but indirect effects in vivo through modulation of sympathetic activity toward BAT cannot be excluded. The identification of novel endocrine controllers of BAT activity is of special biomedical interest as a prerequisite for developing pharmacological tools that influence BAT activity without the side effects of sympathomimetics. Moreover, some data indicate specificities in the irisin and the FGF21 endocrine systems in humans relative to current information based on rodent models. Translating emerging information to humans and validating it is essential for establishing the usefulness of novel endocrine factors in biomedical applications.

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